Wed. June 13, 2012 Kilkenny

So far Ireland is the greenest place I have ever seen! Vines are overgrowing the walls, moss pervades the tree trunks and the winding roads look like green tunnels.  Thus...The Emerald Isle.  Before leaving The Burlington Hotel in Dublin we studied (well John and Ken did) the itinerary and maps closely.  The roads look like a bowl of spaghetti.  No wonder they didn't tell us exactly which one to take.  There are far too many options.  So let's just take one and go.  

Ann and I actually felt a little car sick in the back seat.  Johnnie had taken the wheel and after a few whiplash manoeuvres soon got the hang of the stick shift.  Ken had done the driving with the standard on Orkney and our car in Scotland was an automatic (that we didn't really want!) I am not blaming John for making us car sick.  The tunnel like roads limited our visibility.  All you could see out our windows in the back were green walls.  It was hard to get a long distance view but once we did we noticed lots of cows and sheep.  

We were on a scenic drive and decided to stop 

 at the ancient monastery at Glendelough
(Valley of two Lakes.) This settlement dates from the 6th century and was very scenic despite the rain.  If it hadn't been pouring so hard we would have spent more time walking but a trip to the stone tower and cemetery just about has us soaked.  

Good thing we picked up these umbrellas in Scotland! 

I could not get over this mossy tree and how gorgeous the rhododendrons are!  We found out they are not native to the British Isles and some would like to get rid of  them but they are a joy to look at at. 

Ann and I had to peer between the guys to see anything for parts of the drive.  We arrived at a  small town called Rathdrum and found the Rose Cafe for lunch.  Lovely, despite the "Coffin Shed" aspect.  

 We came across The Cartoon Inn on the main street and believe it or not the purple Lounge Bar is the same place but from the back.  Scenes from several movies were taken here.  

 After lunch we headed to Kilkenny and 
found Dunromin, our B and B with some difficulty.  Val and Tim were so helpful and welcoming and since it was now later in the afternoon Tim drove us down to Kilkenny Castle to save us the hassle of traffic.  We had found Kilkenny to be very congested as we drove around trying to find the B and B so this was much appreciated.  This castle has been restored to it's 1800 status but of course has a much longer history.  We bought a Heritage Pass which would allow us free entry into many more Heritage sites in Ireland. 

After touring the castle we walked up town to Matt Miller's Pub and enjoyed a Kilkenny, the town's namesake.  From there we went to another pub for supper and to hear some Irish music and then walked back to Dunromin to call it a day.  Dunromin is old fashioned but lovely. 

We noticed lots of windows with a contrasting  brick around them all over Ireland.  Like Scotland, gorgeous flowers and gardens adorn stone and older buildings making them so appealing. 

 "You can't wait for the storm to end - you have to learn how to dance in the rain."

Thanks for reminding us Val!  We are in for a few more days of rain and our hostess at Dunromin B and B put things in perspective. 

How about these purple roses? This was my last memory of Dunromin and Kilkenny.  On to Blarney!